William Goundry (28 March 1934 – February 2012) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

wing half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. A "hard player", he is best remembered for his six years in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

with

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, for whom he made over 140 appearances.

Playing career

Huddersfield Town

, Goundry began his career as an amateur with First Division club

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. The ...

and failed to make a first team appearance before departing at the end of the 1954–55 season.

Brentford

Goundry signed for

Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to on ...

club

in May 1955. Goundry was a regular part of a team which consistently challenged for promotion from the division, only to fall short. He made a career-high 42 appearances during the 1959–60 season, but found himself released at the end of the following campaign due to

maximum wage A maximum wage, also often called a wage ceiling, is a legal limit on how much income an individual can earn. It is a prescribed limitation which can be used to effect change in an economic structure, but its effects are unrelated to those of mini ...

restrictions. Goundry made 148 appearances and scored 12 goals during his six years at

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

Non-League football

After his release from Brentford, Goundry dropped into

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

and joined Southern League Premier Division club

Bedford Town Bedford Town Football Club is a football club based in the Borough of Bedford, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Eyrie in Cardington, a village on the outskirts of Bedford. They are full members of the Football As ...

during the 1961 off-season. He made 156 appearances and scored five goals before departing in 1964 and ending his career with Hastings United.

Personal life

Prior to becoming a professional footballer with Brentford, Goundry served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goundry, Billy 1934 births Footballers from Middlesbrough English men's footballers Brentford F.C. players English Football League players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Bedford Town F.C. players Southern Football League players Hastings United F.C. (1948) players Men's association football wing halves 2012 deaths